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A few years back, I was studying Interior Design, for almost two years, and because we almost share the same classes with Graphic Design, I changed my specialty and jumped into the graphic world. If I had continued after graduation for another two semesters, I might have been holding both degrees. I was excellent at both.

Little did I know, that a few years from that point, my life and career path would totally change and take me in a different direction, and both options would be more of a hobby, but I’ve been always open to change. Look at me now! I’ve moved in two months from my hometown Amman, leaving behind my family, friends and blooming career in social media and blogging for love. I got married without a wedding or planning, or even a waiting apartment.

After eight months of living in a hotel, I missed the feeling of a home, I missed my things, my closet, and my books. Mostly I missed Amman’s larger spaces. In Kuwait, the prices for larger apartments is absurd, but lucky for us, my husband found a new building and he leased our apartment which happens to be located in the heart of the best three locations in Kuwait and most importantly it’s near a bookstore!

Our families wanted to help, and they did, but the rest was on us! Hamad and I were a bit preoccupied in being newlyweds! It took us sometime to make our small apartment into a welcoming, beautiful home.

Little by little, our small apartment jumped from being empty to being full of things, and from being white and new, to being colorful and homey. I’ve been in love with colors since I was a child, I know that the new decor trend is the white-on-white spaces, mostly Scandinavian with minimal things, but it’s simply not me. I like white, but I love things.

A few days ago, I was recently inspired by Arhaus to share my dream living room! I was super excited for the project because funnily, I was already writing about the best things to have in a living room in small apartments! Eventually it changed my post into something a bit different.

If you love decorating like I do, I’m sure that you have walked into different stores, with different budgets, took many photos, and imagined both your current home and your dream home. I have always done that. But since I got married the dreams became more demanding, I even made a plan of my dream house, which is suitable for a family, guests and many friends to entertain and have over.

So, without further ado, this post is going to have THREE living rooms! One is the “real life” one that I have right now, the other is going into two sections, the homey living room one for family and close friends and the luxuries living room one for guest and meetings.

REALITY

In my current apartment, we only have one space for one living room and a dining table, the kitchen is too small to have a tiny dining table. We went crazy and bought the dining set without measurement because we loved it SO much, and it was too large! (don’t do that!)

When we visited our friends, I discovered a lot of different trends they make in their homes, some I didn’t care for but wondered about; in Kuwait most of the renters (even my neighbors!) put the dining table right beside the entrance door, which I found peculiar and uncomfortable. They complained of the tiny space, I suggested that they play around with the furniture, or change the dining table into a smaller one.

In any case, here is how our home is set; when you enter into our home, you are welcomed by a lot of natural light, because we rarely close the curtain. In the middle you will find an uneven U-shaped sofa set facing the TV, the sofas are comfortable, colored brown and deep cream with colorful pillows with different patterns, in the middle there is a round glass and gold center coffee table, with a golden tray, adorned with vases, and candy. Right behind the love-sofa, you will find our dining table, which is made of rusty gold and mirrors which are surrounded by purple velvet covered French chairs, they look regal but are very comfortable.

On the same wall as the TV our white bookshelves from floor to ceiling is covering the wall facing the dining table, giving our living room a soul (we are still shipping my books from back home little-by-little, the rest are in the spare room which I turned into a tiny studio and a bookworm reprieve). The walls are still not completely covered with photographs and art. We are still collecting (we need some greenery as well!), I paint a bit, but my mother is the true artist in the family and she promised me at least two paintings for our living room. We have a large mirror beside the TV on the other side (though I wanted a large golden rimmed one), to take selfies right before leaving the house (not kidding).

Both my husband and I work a lot in freelance jobs and love TV white-noise. My husband is a graphic designer as well, so our moods are similar, even if our tastes differs. I have a work station, my orange and natural wood desk and modern orange chair that reminds me of the 60s, a silver lamp stand and many pens, notebooks and knick-knacks. I write and do some social media gigs, though I’m still working on my FOUR novels, two in Arabic and two in English. One is almost done and ready for publishing. We are looking for used pianos of good quality at the moment to put beside my desk. We love music. So our living room is a bit cramped but we absolutely love it. I always feel happy to come home.

We are thinking constantly of painting the walls, but I’m so moody, for a few weeks I’m convinced that I want Venetian yellow, the next I want apple green! So we’re sticking with the white walls for a while. Also, I MISS having a balcony, especially in Kuwait’s spring time.

I have always fantasized about my dream house, I’m still not sure in which country I would live, but I know exactly what I want. So in this section you are going to view one of my dreams. I know that I want high ceilings in my dream house, I want it to have both an oriental and european feeling to it.

Upon entering you would come across a large othmanian door, not showing a glimpse of what’s inside, once your enter, you will stand in a large spot of natural sun from above, playfully making rainbows from a large crystal chandelier, that is in the center of the foyer. in a small hall of arches you will enter into a large living room, with a fireplace, a grand piano, floor-to-ceiling windows and exotic velvet and leather couches with curtains made of silk and beads, persian carpets and fresh peonies. Right upstairs, there will be an inside balcony, that I can see the guests before coming down. This room will be separated from the rest of the house, and close by, it will have a guest bathroom. Privacy is important.

In an inside section, only for close friends and family you will enter into a large space, it will have the family living room, casual large dining table and an open kitchen all facing the outside garden and swimming pool, the whole wall will be made of glass, the floors will be light caramel or of a spanish pattern, and not so soft or slippery, we don’t want any injuries! In the far end, there would be a huge fireplace, rugs, wide L shaped sofa and large leather armchairs, that you can sit, sleep and watch movies on, while waiting for home cooked meals. I want a porch with another dining table made of wood, and an outside Arabian oven for pizzas and pastries, swings and lots of space for games and relaxation.

No matter how many details I add, it would never do the space justice, I only know that it’s my dream space. I never think in term of items, but the whole feeling and color of the house. I hope you enjoyed reading and sharing my enthusiasm, and I hope you like my three mood boards!

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Dana Al-Basha is a writer and blogger, currently residing in Kuwait with a graphic design degree; born in the Year of the Tiger. She's a Leo, humanitarian, foodie, artist, swimmer, reader and a deep thinker.